Dismantling IAMC’s Fabricated Smear Campaign Against VHPA (Part 4 of 8) – Asymmetrical Accountability Standard

Rasheed Ahmed’s next allegation adopts a sanctimonious tone, shifting from cultural association to insinuation by implying that VHPA’s overseas charitable giving reflects hidden ideological motives rather than transparent philanthropy. His article alleges that VHPA transferred millions of dollars to organizations in India — specifically citing a cumulative figure of over $7 million between 2001 and 2020 — and presents it as evidence of ideological alignment or concealed political purpose.

What the article conveniently omits is that these transfers are neither hidden nor unusual. As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, every grant is documented in its publicly available IRS Form 990 filings and subject to the same strict U.S. reporting requirements, audits, and legal oversight as every other American charity. The real question is not whether funds crossed borders — but why they did, and whether they served legitimate humanitarian purposes.

VHPA’s overseas charitable work has consistently focused on education, disaster relief, and emergency medical aid. Through its Support A Child program[1], it has provided schooling, supplies, food, clothing, and basic care to thousands of orphaned and economically disadvantaged children. Following the devastating 2001 Gujarat earthquake, VHPA helped rebuild an entire village[2], including homes belonging to Muslim families, reflecting a relief effort guided by humanitarian need rather than religious identity. It also supported fishing communities in Nagapattinam after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. [3] During the second wave of COVID-19 in India, VHPA coordinated the delivery of oxygen equipment, ventilators, and urgently needed medical supplies to overwhelmed hospitals. In the United States, it has likewise supported disaster relief for families affected by Hurricane Katrina, California wildfires, and Hawaii wildfires.

Importantly, this work has crossed religious lines. VHPA facilitated shipments that also assisted other charities, including the Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), which publicly acknowledged VHPA’s logistical support during COVID relief operations. These were urgent humanitarian responses to human suffering, not ideological projects.

Cross-border philanthropy is standard practice for American charities across all communities — especially Islamic organizations. The hypocrisy lies in the selective smear that treats Hindu giving as uniquely dangerous while turning a blind eye to far larger and more controversial flows from Islamic networks.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was named a co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) terrorism-financing case — the largest successful terrorism-financing prosecution in U.S. history. HLF, a major U.S.-based Muslim charity, was convicted in 2008 on all 108 counts of providing material support to Hamas[4] (a designated foreign terrorist organization), money laundering, and tax fraud. It had funneled approximately $12.4 million to Hamas-linked entities in the West Bank and Gaza. Five HLF leaders received sentences ranging from 15 to 65 years in prison. [5]

Other U.S.-based Muslim charities faced similar consequences. The Benevolence International Foundation (BIF) was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the Treasury Department in 2002 for providing direct financial and material support to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, including weapons purchases for terrorist camps.[6]

The Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) was likewise designated in 2004 for supporting al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban, and later pleaded guilty to sanctions violations involving illegal transfers of $1.4 million to Iraq. [7]

These were not vague “associations.” They were criminal convictions and formal terrorist designations involving millions of dollars routed to designated terrorist groups. Yet the same voices now scrutinizing VHPA’s transparent humanitarian efforts failed to apply equivalent scrutiny to those cases — or to the organizations linked to them.

Read Part 3: Guilt by Association

Read Part 5: Selective Outrage over Speakers

Citations

[1] Support-A-Child (SAC) About Page. Support A Child USA. https://www.supportachildusa.org/about-sac/

[2] Lokvani Talks To Dr. Abhaya Asthana. Lokvani. (Mentions VHPA rebuilding an entire village in Gujarat after the 2001 earthquake). https://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=7683

[3] Tsunami Relief Efforts: Updated List of Relief Organizations. Hinduism Today. December 30, 2004. https://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2004/12/30/2004-12-30-tsunami-relief-efforts-updated-list-of-relief-organizations/

[4] U.S. Department of Justice, “Federal Judge Hands Down Sentences in Holy Land Foundation Case,” May 27, 2009, https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/federal-judge-hands-downs-sentences-holy-land-foundation-case

[5] Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Holy Land Foundation Convictions,” November 25, 2008, https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2008/november/hlf112508

[6] U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Treasury Designates Benevolence International Foundation and Related Entities as Financiers of Terrorism,” November 19, 2002, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/po3632

[7] U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Treasury Designates Global Network, Senior Officials of IARA for Supporting bin Laden, Others,” October 13, 2004, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/js2025